File the Henniker Motel in
Henniker, N.H., as one of those "I was pleasantly surprised motels."

From the exterior, the plain-looking, aging motel sign and rather
familiar, generic looking two story lodging structure with a balcony on
the second floor suggested nothing more than a one or two-star motel.
But then again, the nighttime rain and fog on this late summer night
could have made the Ritz Carlton look sub par.

Our initially tentative feeings about the motel changed in a hurry. The
hotel owner greeted us so warmly in the check-in area -- much needed
after driving an hour in sometimes torrential rain from Lebanon NH where we
traveled to visit my wife's ailing brother recently admitted to
Hitchcock Dartmouth Hospital. (he is fine now, thank goodness!). After
checking in, we entered our spacious, clean room with very comfortable
beds, an updated bathroom, coffee maker, refriergator and microwave
oven.

After a personal best night's sleep in perhaps this generation (rainy
nights and lots of driving will do that, I suppose), I peaked out the
window in the early morning to see a beautiful, misty scene of hills, mountains and perfectly
manicured grounds -- in retrospect, no surprise, given the Henniker Motel's rather
isolated location at the base of Pat's Peak Ski area. But in another
regard, this incredibly pleasing rural scene exceeded all expectations
as driving past Pat's Peak area in the past hadn't grabbed us the way a
Mt. Washington or Mt. Mansfield would with their high peaks and often dramatic surrounding scenery.

What a nice way to
wake up -- a room with a view at the Henniker Motel!

Added bonuses at the Henniker Motel: a very good indoor pool, a cozy
fireplace living room with television and comfy sofas and an outdoor
patio that overlooks that overlooks Mt. Kearsarge.

That the Henniker Motel resides around some scenic foliage routes in
the fall, skiing and snowmobiling amenities right up the road in the
winter, and nearby swimming (at Sunapee Lake)) fishing, fly fishing
kayaking and mountain biking makes for an ideal destination only 20
minutes from the state capital of Concord. Additionally, we have found Henniker as an ideal,
little New Hampshire town -- cute with a walkable downtown
offering local shops, restaurants, nice views of the Contoocook River
and the leafy presence of New England College. Henniker has refused to
bow to chain development, too, so just about all the businesses you'll
see here are locally-owned, including an old-time variety store and
pharmacy.

Checking out of the Henniker Motel, we drove to the bottom of the
mountain to have a fabulous pancake breakfast at the rustic Intervale
Farm Pancake House. Everyone in town seemed to show up here,
thus lending a close-knit community feeling, filled with conversation and the coffe and (real) maple syrup flowing.
What a nice way to end this mini-vacation!

While many others can hardly wait to return to old New England standbys
like Cape Cod or the White Mountains, we'll place on our "A" list
destinations like Henniker that please the traveler by just being
itself. The Henniker Motel certainly serves as an ideal launching pad
for visiting this nice, "normal" town with so many healthy, outdoor
recreational activities and scenic countryside. And it just goes to show, you can't always judge a motel by its cover!

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